Skytrooper

Thank you, sambamama, for starting this thread. I just booked an 11-day cruise on the Koningsdam and saved $150 by using an Amex card instead of my usual Amazon Visa card.

When you choose (or are forced into) Select you must pay your gratuities as part of your cruise fare.

Really? My wife and I are booked on a 10-day cruise aboard the Eclipse departing December 11, 2016. We have Select dining and weren't required to prepay any gratuities. We've fully paid our cruise fare and port taxes/fees but our cruise fare certainly did not include any charge for gratuities.

Do you recall how long it took to walk it?

Probably around 20 minutes or so. That was walking at a pretty brisk pace.

During our last visit to Barbados, my wife and I walked from the cruise port to the Boatyard (actually to the beach area at Lobster Alive which is just past the Boatyard) without any problem or concern for our safety.

Barbados has numerous beaches "where the turtles are" but the distance to swim to reach them and the likelihood of seeing turtles will vary (partly on the season and partly if it's an area where people routinely feed turtles). On our last visit to Barbados, my wife and I rented chairs and an umbrella from Lobster Alive, right next to the Boatyard. We later walked farther along Brownes Beach. Several times we were approached by small boat operators wanting to take us a short distance offshore to snorkel with turtles. It's not unusual for people to swim directly from the beach to areas where turtles are being fed by boat operators.

During some of my previous visits to Barbados, I hired a taxi to the beach at Folkestone. I was repeatedly approached by locals wanting to take me in their small boat to "swim with turtles" for $20. I declined these offers, but watched them carry other tourists a short distance (probably 100 meters or so) offshore. I observed numerous people swim from the beach to where turtles were congregating.

Other Barbados beaches popular for seeing turtles include Worthing Beach, Paynes Bay, Alleynes Beach (or Bay), Treasure Beach, and Holetown Beach. What I would be leery about swimming from a beach to the turtles (depending on the beach and the distance) is the possibility of being hit by a passing boat or jet ski.

You said you went with the Boatyard, but then mentioned the beach where the turtles are located is a free beach. How do you know this? What is the name of the place there at that beach? :confused:

All beaches on Barbados are public. The Boatyard is located on Brownes Beach, one of several beaches along Carlisle Bay. While the Boatyard charges to use its facilities, the beach itself is public and "free" to use. Sea turtles are routinely encountered a fairly short distance off beaches in this area.

We are scheduled to be on the Celebrity Eclipse 12/11 thru 12/21.

My wife and I are on the same cruise.

Would you suggest we book the afternoon excursion on the first day (12/16) or the early excursion the second day (12/17).

The Eclipse is scheduled to depart Barbados at 1 PM on December 17. Silver Moon's earliest excursion is from 9 AM to 2 PM. That pretty much excludes booking with them on December 17 unless you want to watch the Eclipse sail away. :)

Skytrooper, you must be in an amazing shape!

This will come as news to my wife. :) She accompanied me walking to St. Jean Beach, twice, when our small cruise ship, Renaissance III, docked at Gustavia for two days in the summer of 1993.

I have never heard of someone walking from Gustavia. And you walked to Salines also over the two hills! Good for you!

My obese brother-in-law made the same walk with me to Grande Saline Beach in 1997. The next person who thinks he's in "amazing shape" will be the first.

As someone who lives in Saint Barth for part of the year, I must say I don't know anyone,local or visitor, who walks. Jog yes, as there is no flat altenative. But walk? Routinely?

If it's manageable for people to jog (and it is), how can it possibly not be feasible for them to walk the same routes? Perhaps I'm overly "frugal," but I'm not about to pay the exorbitant taxi fees on St. Barts when I'm perfectly capable of walking. On my last visit to St. Barts, as I was returning from St. Jean, I encountered an elderly couple from my cruise ship who asked if they were on the right road to St. Jean. After explaining the distance and (more importantly) the hill to them, they turned around and I escorted them to Shell Beach on the other side of Gustavia.

I would be super careful at night though, for fear of being hit by a car in the dark, curvy, hilly road.

It would naturally be more dangerous at night. But this isn't a concern for day visitors off a cruise ship. If people are willing to pay St. Barts taxi fees, that's swell; I'm not. I'm still in shock over what it cost to get three rolls of film developed on St. Barts in 1993.

how long would you say it was there and back?

It's been quite a few years since my last visit to St. Barts, but I think it took around 40 minutes or so to walk from Gustavia to St. Jean beach. The actual time, of course, will depend on how fast a person walks. From the top of the hill, you get a great view of the airport and beach.

I've also walked from Gustavia to Colombier and Grande Saline beaches which are substantially longer distances. Grande Saline is a gorgeous beach, but there's no shade or amenities (at least not when I was last there in 1997).

Walking from Gustavia to Saint Jean is not possible.

Really? I've been to St. Barts on several cruises and walked from Gustavia to Saint Jean (and more distant beaches) and back without the slightest problem. So has my wife and one of her brothers. I wish I had a dollar for every person who's walked from Gustavia to Saint Jean without regarding it as "highly dangerous." What you describe as a "very steep hill" shouldn't faze anyone in reasonably good physical fitness. People routinely walk (even jog) alongside this road.